


Sooner or Later

by Lyri



Series: One Kiss At A Time [2]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Anal Sex, Bottom Jared, Graphic Descriptions of Rape, M/M, Mentions of Violence, Mentions of attempted suicide, jared being proud, jensen being a badass, jensen being hurt, mentions of suicidal tendancies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-18
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2018-02-17 21:35:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2323952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyri/pseuds/Lyri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's three years later, and Jensen's back in court. But it's what happens later that will determine what happens next.</p><p>This is a time stamp for my Big Bang fic, One Kiss at a Time, and will be completely meaningless unless you've read that first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sooner or Later

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Sooner or Later](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3806608) by [merrick_ds](https://archiveofourown.org/users/merrick_ds/pseuds/merrick_ds)



“Mr. Shaw, after listening to the testimonies of some of your victims and hearing evidence supplied by the correctional officers who interact with you on a day-to-day basis, it is the decision of this parole board that you have not shown any remorse for the heinous crimes you have committed. Therefore, your request for parole has been denied.”

Jensen feels all of the tension in his body just drain away, Jared’s hand on his tightens and suddenly, Jensen can breathe again, like his body had finally remembered how to take a deep breath after three months of forgetting.

Jensen sits in his seat next to Jared and watches as Ryan Shaw, the man who ruined his life, is lead away in handcuffs, back to the prison where he’s been for the last thirteen years and will remain for the foreseeable future.

He looks different, Jensen thinks, older, worn down. Nothing like the beast of a man that had dragged Jensen into an alley and took everything away from him, or the well-groomed man who had sat in a court room in front of a jury and denied all the charges against him, despite the DNA evidence the prosecutors had, thanks to Jensen.

The man of Jensen’s nightmares is gone, washed away by the hard prison life and Jensen can’t help wondering if Shaw got a taste of his own medicine. It would be nothing less than he deserved.

Shaw doesn’t look at anyone as he’s lead away, just keeps his eyes straight ahead, but Jensen can see the resignation there, and he wouldn’t be surprised if word was sent to him in a few months’ time, telling him that Shaw just couldn’t take it anymore.

Jensen knows that look all too well, he’s seen it in the mirror too many times.

Though not for a good few years.

As the door closes behind Shaw, Jensen chances a look around the rest of the room. People have mostly cleared out, the reporters gone to write up their stories, and whatever other kind of people came to this sort of thing have returned to their lives, and Jensen spares a moment to wonder if Shaw had any family here to support him. If anyone can still support someone who has done the things Shaw was convicted of.

There are still a few people in their seats, mostly women as far as Jensen can see and he knows that some of them are Shaw’s other victims, those who came forward to testify when Jensen did.

Jensen takes in the two women huddled together a few rows in front of him. They don’t seem to be related and though they haven’t said anything, something tells Jensen that these women were attacked by Shaw as well.

The older woman looks to be around forty and Jensen wonders about her life before Shaw, if she had a husband or kids to worry about as she tried to get over the horrible thing that happened to her.

The other woman, though, she looks young, years younger than Jensen and even as he adds up the dates in his head, he comes to the startling realization that she was probably a teenager at the time of Shaw’s attack, no older than Mack had been at the time of Jensen’s.

He feels sick to his stomach.

Another squeeze of his hand and Jensen looks to his right and there’s Jared, safe and beautiful and dependable as always.

Jensen will be forever thankful to Jared for helping him to get his life back, even if Jared doesn’t want to take any of the credit, Jensen still knows it’s true.

“Are you ready to go?” Jared asks, his usually booming, vibrant voice pitched low in respect for the people in the room.

“Yeah,” Jensen answers, clearing his throat, “yeah, I…” He looks back at the two women to find them looking at him, something in their eyes that makes Jensen pause. 

It’s not recognition, exactly; it’s something more than that. Understanding, maybe. Whatever it is, it makes Jensen feel bigger than what he is, and he gives the women a small smile, hoping that they at least handled their aftermath better than Jensen handled his.

“Let’s go,” he says quietly and Jared doesn’t let go of his hand the whole way to the car.

He hopes they’ll never have to come back to a place like this.

///

They’re quiet on the car ride back home and Jensen knows it’s his fault.

He feels angsty, on edge, like he’s going to explode at any given moment and he has no idea why.

Jared sits behind the wheel for a few seconds after he parks in their driveway and Jensen can tell that Jared is looking at him, but he keeps his eyes straight ahead, staring at the marks Sadie has somehow managed to make on the front window. He should clean that.

Jared heaves a sigh and gets out of the car without uttering a word and Jensen doesn’t know what else to do but follow him.

He doesn’t know what’s wrong, can’t pin point the emotions swirling through him and he takes his time walking up to the front door, which Jared has left open for him, his eyes on his feet as he tries to figure himself out.

“Idiot,” he whispers to himself, turning around to close the front door and he rests his forehead there for a second, taking a few deep breaths and enjoying the coolness of the wood on his overheated skin.

“Jensen.”

Jared’s voice is full of concern, concern Jensen knows isn’t really warranted and he takes one last deep breath before he turns to face the other man.

The breath gets caught in his throat when his eyes settle on Jared.

Jared had been wearing a crisp, navy suit to the parole hearing while Jensen had chosen a simple steel gray. Both suits had been tailored especially for them and Jared had looked incredible as they walked into the hearing with their heads held high.

Now though, Jared has lost his jacket somewhere, his navy tie is hanging loose and the top two buttons of his blue shirt are open and the tail has been untucked from his pants. He’s rolled his sleeves up to his elbows and Jensen honestly thinks he’s never seen Jared look more beautiful, more sexy than he does right at this moment.

Jensen licks his lips and stalks towards him.

“Jensen?” Jared says, a question this time, but Jensen doesn’t answer, just crowds himself against Jared’s body and kisses him deeply.

“I want you,” he whispers against Jared’s lips, his fingers already undoing the rest of the buttons on Jared’s shirt.

“Uh, okay, this is…okay,” Jared stammers and gets with the program, his questions gone as he reaches for Jensen, his hands on either side of Jensen face and pulling him in for a deep, mind blowing kiss.

Jensen takes a step backwards, pulling Jared with him, and guides them to the living room, his lips never leaving Jared’s, not even for a second.

Jensen struggles to get Jared out his shirt, Jared’s hands getting stuck on the cufflinks that had been a gift from Jensen on their second anniversary, inscribed with their initials and the date, and Jared pulls away for just a minute, taking care to set the cufflinks on the sideboard, well out of Sadie’s reach.

Jensen uses the time apart to rid himself of his own jacket and shirt, throwing them both over the back of the armchair and kicks off his shoes.

When he turns back around, Jared has an unopened tube of lube and a condom in his hands and Jensen laughs. 

Jared shrugs sheepishly. “I left the shopping in here.”

Jensen doesn’t think that’s necessarily true, but he doesn’t question it, just takes a step closer to Jared until he can grab hold of the tie Jared’s somehow still wearing and pull him closer.

He leaves the tie on and kisses Jared again, hard and hungry, his hands running down Jared’s body until he reaches his belt, undoing it quickly and unfastening his pants.

“In a hurry much?” Jared snarks against his lips and Jensen silences him with another hot kiss.

“Yes,” he mumbles, and Jared pulls back just a little until he can look deep into Jensen’s eyes.

What he finds there, Jensen doesn’t know, but Jared doesn’t speak again, and when Jensen rids him of his pants and bower briefs, Jared complies willingly, so Jensen thinks they’re both on the same page – whatever page that happens to be.

Jared walks backwards towards the couch, which Jensen thinks is probably a good idea, since he was just planning on laying Jared out on the floor, but the couch is good, comfier – until Jared drapes himself over the back of it, kneeling on the cushions, his ass presented to Jensen like the sweetest prize there is.

But Jensen just can’t.

He rakes his eyes over the length of Jared’s gorgeous back, the tan skin he has kissed and sucked and loved every inch of over the last three years, his muscles rippling as he waits impatiently for Jensen to get with the program, but still, Jensen doesn’t move.

He can’t see Jared’s face. In this position, he can’t see the loving look in Jared’s eyes as Jensen sinks into him, can’t see the emotion swirling there as Jensen comes inside him.

All Jensen can see is the mop of dark brown hair – the only thing Shaw could see of Jensen when he had Jensen on his hands and knees on the dirty floor of that alley.

Even after more than thirteen years, that bastard is still ruining Jensen’s life.

He tries, he really does. He takes of his pants and socks and underwear and walks up to the couch, picking up the lube and condom from where Jared dropped them on the coffee table. He crawls onto the couch behind Jared, puts his arms around Jared’s waist and pulls him close, his cock riding the crease of Jared’s ass, a hint of what’s to come.

Jared relaxes back into Jensen’s arms, one hand reaching for Jensen, and Jensen presses kiss after kiss along Jared’s shoulder and throat, trying desperately to swallow past the lump in his throat.

Jensen reaches around Jared’s body and strokes Jared’s hard shaft, gathering the pre-come at the time with his thumb, and Jared jerks in his arms, letting out a moan, gasping Jensen’s name, but Jensen still hesitates. It just feels wrong, the angle is wrong, awkward and Jensen knows it’s because they’ve gotten themselves into a routine.

They have a good sex life – better than good, Jensen’s never experienced anything like being with Jared; it’s mind blowing. But Jensen knows they’ve fallen into some sort of routine when they’re being intimate, always face-to-face, never with Jared on his hands and knees, never with Jared’s back to Jensen. Jensen just can’t do it.

He wonders if this is some kind of test that Jared’s conjured up for him, even as he licks up the column of Jared’s throat, teething nipping at his pulse point.

And Jensen knows that it’s a test that he’s not going to pass, at least not right now.

He still can’t do it, even in a position like this, where Jared’s not really on his hands and knees, and Jensen’s erection is already flagging just at the thought of pushing into Jared like this.

Instead, Jensen compromises. He pulls Jared away from the back of the couch, angling them until they fall on their sides on the cushions, with, thanks to some clever maneuvering on Jensen’s part, Jensen on the inside, with his back against the back of the couch.

Jared hums, rubbing himself like a cat along every inch of Jensen’s body where they’re pressed together.

“God, it’s hot when you get all possessive like that,” Jared groans and Jensen pulls on Jared’s shoulder until he can reach Jared’s lips for a kiss, fucking his tongue into Jared’s mouth.

It’s not perfect, in fact, it’s uncomfortable as hell, never mind how Jared’s feeling, but Jensen doesn’t move, doesn’t reposition them, just strokes Jared’s cock once and pops open the lube.

Jared hisses when Jensen’s finger pushes into him, but he still arches into Jensen’s touch and Jensen watches the blissed out look on his face as he closes his eyes.

Jensen preps him quickly, one finger, then two, his own cock leaking against the small of Jared’s back. He presses kisses to Jared’s shoulder, neck, chin, cheeks, lips, anywhere he can reach, basking in the grunts and groans and curses Jared lets out as Jensen hits that spot inside of him.

Jensen got three fingers inside of Jared when Jared digs his fingernails into the meat of Jensen’s thigh.

“Jensen, please,” he begs, “I’m ready, just do it.”

Jensen agrees, he can’t wait much longer either. He reaches for the condom he left on the arm of the couch and rips it open with his teeth.

It’s awkward as hell, trying to roll the condom down his achingly hard shaft, and Jared doesn’t help, laughing and giggling and kissing the side of Jensen’s face while Jensen struggles.

Finally, Jensen lets out a relieved sigh as he slicks his latex-covered cock and lines himself up with Jared’s body. He lifts Jared’s leg, cradling it in the crook of his arm and holding Jared wide open, and he slides into Jared’s body with an almost practiced ease.

Jared’s hand grabs hold of Jensen’s wrist and Jensen takes the gesture for what it is and he holds himself still, pressing kisses to any part of Jared’s body he can reach. Jared angles his head, searching for Jensen’s lips and Jensen kisses him passionately, his tongue mapping Jared’s mouth, distracting him just enough so that when he pulls his hips back, only to push right back in again, Jared gasps loudly, his hold on Jensen’s wrist tightening. Jensen knows he’s asking for more now, harder, and Jensen gives it to him, holding Jared open wider and slamming into his body over and over again.

“Oh, God, Jensen, yes,” Jared gasps, panting harsh breathes against Jensen’s face.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” Jensen manages, his hips working hard. “Touch yourself, Jared,” he pleads, “I want to see you come.”

Jared’s hand immediately leaves Jensen’s wrist to grip his own cock as Jensen fucks into him harder and faster.

Sweat drips down Jensen’s forehead and makes his back stick to the leather of the couch. It’s uncomfortable and mildly disgusting, but it doesn’t stop him. Instead, it spurs him on, making him whisper filthy words into Jared’s ear, panting them into Jared’s mouth.

He can feel his orgasm creeping up on him, that familiar tingling at the base of his spine and his shifts slightly, changing the angle of his thrust until Jared lets out a loud groan and Jensen knows he’s hit the right spot.

“Close, Jensen,” Jared confesses breathlessly. “Jensen, please.”

Jensen loses whatever sort of rhythm he had left. He grips Jared’s leg tighter and somewhere in the back of his mind, he knows there’ll be bruises there in the morning, but he can’t think about that now as he fucks into Jared with abandon, his hips pump, breathing forgotten, chasing the pleasure, the release for both of them.

“Jared, God, Jared,” he babbles, mind lost to the desire coursing through him and suddenly, he’s coming, his hips stilling as he empties himself into the condom.

“Yes,” Jared breathes, kissing Jensen’s lax lips. “God, I love you.”

Jensen’s hips stutter, causing Jared to let out a strangled moan and he comes, spilling over his own hand and stomach.

“Fuck,” Jensen curses, burying his face in Jared’s neck. Something grazes his cheek and he lifts his head just enough to see that Jared’s still wearing his tie and he blushes all over.

His softening cock slips out of Jared’s body, both of them grunting softly at the sensation, and Jared twists against the stickiness of the leather couch until he’s lying on his other side, facing Jensen this time.

“I’m sorry,” Jensen mumbles, reaching out to take hold of Jared’s tie. “I can’t ever seem to…I just need to see you, look into your eyes.”

“Jensen, you know I would never complain about that; I just like giving you the choice. And some day, I know you’ll make a different one. But until then, what you just did was _more_ than okay with me.”

Jensen just laughs, shaking his head slightly.

“Are you feeling better?”

Jensen’s smile slips away almost as fast as it appears and he keeps his eyes fixed firmly on Jared’s tie. “I’m sorry, I-”

“Don’t apologize,” Jared tells him, cutting him off. “I was expecting something like this.”

Jensen’s eyes snap to Jared’s. “You were? Why?”

Jared shrugs as best he can. “You always get a little…possessive in bed whenever we’ve been talking about Shaw.”

Jensen blinks, frowning. “I didn’t know that. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not complaining, it’s damn hot when you get like that. It’s like you have to prove that Shaw didn’t get to have the best of you. It’s a good thing. But maybe it’s something you should bring up with Kim, just…just because.”

Jensen nods. “Maybe.”

He’s still seeing Kim – Dr. Rhodes – once a month, though he hasn’t needed any sort of serious therapy for a good long while. He still likes talking to Kim, she helps him clear his mind so that he can think straight and he doesn’t have to burden Jared with everything.

Jared comes with him sometimes, and Kim has had to grudgingly accept that they’re good together.

She had been dead against the relationship at first, especially after they moved into together after just a few short months, though Jensen had decided not to mention that part to Jared. But she admits now that Jared has been good for Jensen, good for his confidence and helping him get back on his feet after everything that happened to him.

Jared laughs, breaking the sudden tension. “Come on, you lust bunny. Let’s take a shower and then we can start to think about dinner.”

“Can I blow you in the shower?” Jensen asks, climbing awkwardly to his feet, removing the condom from his spent dick and wrapping it in a tissue before he walks naked into the kitchen to throw it in the trash.

Jared’s chuckle follows after him. “If you think I can get it up again anytime soon, you are very much mistaken, Baby.”

Jensen pouts, but he silently agrees. He’s not as young as he used to be, though Jared is he first guy that has awakened that lustful, can’t-keep-his-hands-to-himself feeling inside of Jensen and he’ll forever wonder what his life might have been like if he had met Jared even a year earlier.

“Stop that,” Jared scolds gently as he pulls Jensen up the stairs by the hand, his tie now slung over one shoulder but otherwise still as completely naked as Jensen.

“Stop what?”

“I always know when you’re playing that ‘what if’ game of yours and it’s pointless. You can’t change the past, Jensen. We’re here now, _you’re_ here now. That’s good enough for me.”

Jensen just smiles and follows Jared into the shower.

///

After their shared shower – sadly lacking in blowjobs – Jared and Jensen dress in sweats and old t-shirts, neither of them expecting company or planning on going anywhere until they head back to work the next day.

“Do you want to cook something or should we order in?” Jared says as he leads the way back to the kitchen. “I feel like we should cap off this really lazy day and just get take out. I feel like pizza.”

Jensen wrinkles his nose. “Not really in the mood for pizza. What about Thai? Or Chinese? I could go for some Chinese.”

Sadie’s whining and scratching at the back door and Jared almost whines with her. “Alright, you order something, I’ll deal with this.”

While Jared crosses the kitchen to let Sadie back into the house, Jensen returns to the living room and retrieves his cellphone from the pocket of his suit jacket.

He dials the familiar number and orders their usual, adding some soda as well, then he sets about picking up the clothes that are scattered about the room from their romp earlier and he folds them neatly next to the front door so that he can take them to the drycleaners in the morning.

“I know,” Jared’s saying in that baby-ish voice he gets sometimes. “I’m sorry, kid, I’m sorry that you’re Daddies abandoned you today.”

Jensen laughs. “Jared, she spends longer than this alone every day while we’re at work and she’s okay. I don’t think today caused her too much stress.”

“Yeah, but she’s usually inside,” Jared argues. “Why did we leave her outside again?”

“I think you need to ask yourself that question,” Jensen mumbles, his eyes on his cellphone.

He feels Sadie brushing past his legs, no doubt heading for the living room and her comfy pillow next to the TV, and Jared lets out a squeak.

“No! Sadie, not the couch!”

Jensen looks up in time to see him grab a damp sponge from the sink and follow the dog.

Cringing at the thought of the mess on the couch, Jensen looks back down at his phone and doesn’t know whether to feel relief or panic.

There’s been no calls or texts or messages of any kind from anyone working at the shop in the time his phone was shut off in the parole hearing and he finds it very unnerving.

Logically, he knows that that probably means that everything is fine, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to call and check in.

 _J Squared_ has been open for almost two and a half years now, and doing better than either Jensen or Jared could have hoped.

Hype spread quickly through Richardson and Dallas, their exclusivity only adding to the appeal of the place.

They’ve had more than one review in the local newspapers and more than one celebrity has dropped by more than once, causing Madison, their young dishwasher, to pass out on one memorable occasion.

Jensen is more than proud of _J Squared_ ; apart from Jared, it’s the only thing in the world that’s one hundred percent his – even if fifty percent of it is Jared’s and Jared insists that Jensen owns half of everything he owns.

 _J Squared_ is Jensen’s and when he’s away from it, he feels uncomfortable, on edge and he needs to check in whether he’ll be laughed at or not.

 _“_ J Squared _, Rachel speaking.”_

Jensen smiles at the bubbly sound of her voice.

“It’s Jensen.”

 _“HA! Are you kidding me?!”_ Rachel shrieks. _“Beth so owes me twenty bucks.”_

Jensen sighs. “You actually talked someone into having a bet with you over whether or not I’d call? I think that’s actually just stealing, Rach.”

_“Eh, it’s not my fault she took the bet, I didn’t hold a gun to her head.”_

Jensen just rolls his eyes and laughs.

Rachel Miner had been a God send to Jensen and the rest of _J Squared_ in the beginning. An experienced waitress, she’d known exactly how to run the place, how to coordinate the front of house staff while Jared and Jensen dealt with the kitchen.

It had been a rough few months after opening day as they tried to figure everything out and Jared learned that he didn’t work at _Jay’s Pad_ anymore, and Rachel had been instrumental in keeping Jensen from throwing in the towel altogether. The customers loved her, the staff respected her and she was a genuinely nice person to work with. 

Not that Jensen worked in the front of the shop all that often – usually when they’re really busy he’ll help at the takeout counter, freeing up the wait staff to see to the rest of the customers.

It’s a delicate balance, one that Jared has had years of practice perfecting, and after a few months, things settled into a routine and _J Squared_ turned into something Jensen truly loved.

Which is why, on his supposed day of, when he should be making sure that he’s okay after what he had to talk about at the parole hearing, he’s instead checking in with Rachel to make sure the place hasn’t burned to the ground because he hasn’t been there.

They’d had to ask Riley – the new baker at _Jay’s Pad_ – to cover for Jensen at _J Squared_ , because it was more important that _J Squared_ have a baker on any given day than it was for _Jay’s Pad_. Of course, Genevieve and Danneel were a little upset at having to disappoint customers, but Jensen knows deep down that they understood and they relented with the promise of a fancy dinner for everyone at one of Jared’s other restaurants the following weekend.

“So the place is still standing?” he asks, nervous despite the sound of Rachel’s voice and he thinks it’s probably whatever anxiety he was feeling about the hearing still holding on. Jared’s right, he really should talk to Kim sometime this week.

Jensen can almost hear the smile in Rachel’s voice. _“Yes, Jensen, it’s still standing. Everything’s okay, though some of the customers could tell that you weren’t the one baking today. Which I find really weird, actually. I mean, it’s the same ingredients, it was made the same way, but still, little Mrs. Dickson knew that you weren’t the one who made the coconut cream pie. Riley was kind of annoyed.”_

Jensen grins, a pleased feeling spreading throughout his body. “That’s…that’s really good, I think I needed to hear something like that today.”

Rachel’s sobers up immediately. _“How did it go?”_

Jensen had told her about the parole hearing and the circumstances surrounding it. He doesn’t really know what possessed him to do so, but he couldn’t really think of anything that would explain why both he and Jared would be out of the shop for the whole day. He doesn’t know what Danneel and Genevieve told Riley, but for some reason, he doesn’t really care if they told him the truth. He’s learned not to be embarrassed or ashamed about what happened to him and he’s let go of some of the guilt that came from his parents’ reaction to what happened. He’s a better person for it.

“It was…rough,” he answers honestly. “He was right there, you know? It’s the first time I’ve seen him since the original trial. But I just kept my eyes on Jared and I think I got through it okay. No one seemed to think I was an idiot anyway.” He laughs.

_“And did he…? I mean, he’s still…he’s still locked up, right? They didn’t let him out?”_

Jensen sighs and feels a lot of the tension in his shoulders just fade away. “No, his parole was denied. He’s still in prison.”

 _“Thank God,”_ Rachel breathes.

“Yeah, I get to be okay for another couple years until he tries again.”

_“And you’ll be just as strong then as you were today, so don’t even sweat it, Boss.”_

Jensen laughs again. “Yeah, well, it’s over for now, so Jared and I will be back in tomorrow at our usual time. If Riley’s still there, tell him thanks for all his help today and I’ll swing by _Jay’s Pad_ at the weekend to talk to him.”

 _“No problemo,”_ she says confidently. _“Now, is there any more questions you would like to ask before I let you get back to that glorious specimen of a man of yours?”_

Jensen blushes. “Uh, no, no I don’t think there’s anything – oh, wait, did you take everything over to the shelter?”

The shelter is the same shelter where Jensen used to live, the one that was slowly killing him until Jared got him out of it over three years ago now. Once Jared got his lawyers onto it, the case went pretty quickly. Amanda Tapping was fired from her position as manager for failing to provide appropriate care and accommodation to the men living there, and the whole place was closed down.

Jensen had felt guilty immediately, because it meant that the men – with nowhere else to go – had ended up having to move into the city to find somewhere to live, somewhere they were going to get the help they needed while some just ended up back on the streets – or worse.

It had been Matt’s idea, at the end of the day. He’d been studying social work at the university and was close to graduating with no real prospects on the job market and he’d wondered aloud about turning it into a homeless shelter. Jared had put Matt in touch with his lawyer and a little over a year later, the shelter had reopened – with Matt and his now-wife Mandy in charge.

Jensen and Jared provide left over food from their many businesses to feed the people that come through the shelter’s doors and Jensen feels good to be giving back to the community and helping people when he had so many people willing to help him.

Despite Amada Tapping and her negligence, without her shelter, Jensen never would have been able to stay in Richardson – and he never would have met his husband.

_“I got everything sorted, Jensen. Beth and Aldis took everything over a couple hours ago and I’ll make sure that today’s leftovers are all boxed and ready for you to take over in the morning.”_

“I really don’t know what Jared and I would do without you, you know that? Remind me to talk to you about a raise some time soon.”

 _“I will definitely not forget about that,”_ she says enthusiastically. _“Alright, I’m gonna go get back to work and let you get back to your man. Just…take it easy and have a night to yourselves, okay?”_

“Thanks, Rach, we’ll see you in the morning.”

Jensen waits until she’s hung up before he disconnects the call and he throws his cellphone onto the kitchen counter. The food won’t arrive for a while yet, so Jensen heads back to the living room, wondering just what exactly Jared’s done to the couch.

Just as he makes it to the door of the living room, the doorbell rings, loud and piercing through the quiet hallway.

“Ten bucks says that’s Danneel and Gen!” Jared shouts through the door and Jensen chuckles.

“No, man, too easy!” he shouts back. “It’s been a couple hours since the hearing ended; I’m surprised Danneel held out this long.”

With a smile, Jensen almost skips to the front door. He’ll give her shit for coming over, but Jensen can’t wait to see Danneel and hug her. She’s the one person who was there for him through everything. She deserves to know what happened and how he’s coping with everything.

But when Jensen pulls open the front door, it’s not Danneel who’s standing there. It’s not Genevieve, or Christian and Steve, it’s not anyone in Jensen’s suddenly long list of friends or anyone he expected.

“Hello, Jensen.”

Donna Ackles’ voice hasn’t changed much in thirteen years.

Multiple things happen at once. 

Jensen’s heart stops beating and lodges in his throat. His blood turns to ice in his veins and his lungs forget how to take in oxygen. His knees turn to jello and his fingernails dig crescent-shaped marks into his palms and Jensen can’t remember how to form words.

He hasn’t felt like this since the night Ryan Shaw pulled him into an alley and destroyed his entire life.

“Mom?” he finally chokes out after what seems like hours and he manages to make his body work for him enough that he can turn to the person standing next to her, looking completely out of his element and unsure of the entire situation.

Jensen knows how his father feels.

“I…I don’t…I don’t know what to do…”

Everything that Jensen learned when it comes to coping with stressful situations just falls out of his head and he just stands in the hallway of his amazing house and stares at his parents who are still standing on the doorstep and no amount of blinking or shaking his head or telling himself that this isn’t real is making them go away.

They’re still here.

“Who’s at the door, Bab-”

Jared cuts himself off when he finally sees over Jensen’s shoulder and Jensen wants to turn to him, to take comfort in him, but he’s rooted to the spot.

Alan clears his throat. “Eh, yes, hello, I’m-”

Jared cuts him off. “I know who you are. What I don’t know, is why you’re standing on my doorstep.”

“We were…we were hoping we could…talk?” Donna says timidly and Jensen turns his eyes to Jared.

He’s actually not capable of making any sort of decision right not.

He’s actually not capable of functioning at all.

Jared stares at him for a moment, looking deep into his eyes and Jensen wonders what he’s looking for, but apparently, he’s found it, because he’s taking a step back, pulling Jensen with him and leaving the doorway wide open.

Jensen knows what he’s going to say before he says it.

“Come in,” Jared waves his hand towards the empty hallway and Jensen feels himself let out a whimper.

Donna is nervous, Jensen can tell, but being invited into her son’s home seems to calm her a little. She sends Jensen a small smile as Alan closes the door, but Jensen can’t return it, molded to Jared’s side as he is.

Jensen shuffles his feet as his parents stand in front of him in his own home and he startles, realizing he’s not wearing any shoes or socks. Looking down, Jensen takes in his ratty, old sweat pants that look about two sizes too big, which means they’re probably Jared’s. An old, faded AC/DC shirt, one that’s actually his own, completes his outfit and he knows he looks absolutely unsuitable for a sit-down with Donna and Alan Ackles.

Though, looking at Jared, in his pink polo shirt and basketball shorts, he’s at least the better dressed of the two of them.

“Please, come through to the kitchen,” Jared coolly instructs.

That gets a reaction from Jensen and he lets out an insane sounding giggle. Jared really does fear anyone sitting on the couch right now.

Alan gives him a strange look and Jensen manages to compose himself slightly, pushing away from Jared.

“We’re…the dog is…that’s where she sleeps. Probably best to leave her out of this,” he manages, his voice tight, choked.

“Yeah, she’s quite protective,” Jared gives his hand a squeeze and they lead the Ackles to the kitchen.

Jensen can hear the sharpness in Jared’s voice, a warning to Jensen’s parents: Jared will protect Jensen at all costs.

Donna and Alan settle themselves at the breakfast bar without being asked and Jensen looks at the two seats across from them for a few seconds before he decides that he can’t sit at a table with them and instead, he leans against the counter on the other side of the kitchen.

Jared stares at him, blinking confusedly before he pulls out a chair from their small dining table – the one that rarely gets used – and puts it in the middle of the kitchen floor and sits down. Jensen guesses that he’s trying for neutral territory, but Jensen can see that he’s closer to his side of the kitchen than Donna and Alan’s.

Silence reigns in the kitchen for several long minutes.

Jensen notices that his mother keeps looking at Jared, almost pointedly, and Jensen suddenly realizes that his parents have no idea who Jared is or why he’s apparently living with their son.

“Oh, um…this is Jared Padalecki,” he says, gesturing wildly. “He’s…he’s my husband.”

Jensen’s stomach flutters when he says the word and he imagines it always will. Jared is his husband. He’ll never get tired of saying that.

It wasn’t a real wedding, nothing legal. Just the two of them and their friends and Jared’s family and Jensen’s siblings gathered together in their backyard. Chris and Steve and Riley played some great songs and Danneel got back up on stage for a one-time only appearance. It had been the perfect day.

Jared’s pretty much the best thing that has ever happened to him, as the gold band on his ring finger can attest to.

Donna smiles at Jared, but there’s something not quite right about it, like there’s something missing. “It’s very nice to meet you, Jared.”

Jared just nods his head, doesn’t return the sentiment and Jensen knows he’s probably seething on the inside, hiding it so that Jensen has a chance of maybe repairing his relationship with his parents.

Jared is the perfect man.

“Yes,” Alan agrees, “we were wondering about your name when they called you up at the hearing. We couldn’t understand why you would want to get rid of the Ackles name.”

Jensen valiantly sails right on by the jibe about his last name and instead focuses on the first thing his father said.

“You were at the hearing?”

Donna looks away, something like shame in her eyes, but Alan nods his head.

“Why?” Jared asks before Jensen has a chance to.

Alan clears his throat. “We…we haven’t seen you for thirteen years, Jensen. We…we knew you would probably be at the hearing and we just…wanted to see for ourselves that you really were okay. We just wanted to see you.”

Jared waves a hand in the air. “You obviously knew where he lived, and if you didn’t, you could have found out in three seconds from Mack or Josh. His name has been in the paper a dozen times in the last three years – both his married name and his un-married name – so you knew where he worked. You could have dropped by at any time to see him. You didn’t have to go to the hearing, where he would be physically and emotionally upset.”

“We weren’t sure we’d be welcome,” Donna admits quietly.

“And today? You stop by today of all days, when you saw what the hearing put him through? Why didn’t you just say something when we were there? Or put this off until next week when we were all back to normal?”

Jensen notices that his father’s face his pale and he wonders what the hell is going on right now.

“We heard what you had to say today, Jensen, when you were on the stand.”

Oh.

Jensen swallows hard and looks away, his eyes coming to rest on the apron Christian bought him for his birthday last year. It says ‘I’m not wearing anything beneath this apron’ and Jensen was more surprised by the fact that Christian knew what an apron was than the message on the front and, yes, he knows he’s rambling inside his own head, but it’s better than focusing on his father’s words.

“I never knew what you went through,” Alan presses on when Jensen keeps silent, “neither of us really did.”

“Because you didn’t want to know,” Jensen spits angrily, surprising not only the people in the room, but himself as well. 

“Jensen,” his mother says softly and Jensen just shakes his head, because no matter what they say right now, it will always be true.

His parents didn’t want to know anything about what happened to him, they made him stop talking every time he tried until eventually, they just walked right out of his life.

“You left me in that DA’s office, alone, you left me in that hospital room, alone, because what happened to me didn’t matter to you. The only thing that mattered was your fucked up idea that I somehow ruined your perfect reputation.”

“Jensen!” Donna gasps. “I won’t accept such language from you!”

“Yeah? Well, tough shit, Mom, because I am fucking thirty-six years old and you have played no part in my life for the last thirteen years, so you don’t get to tell me what is and isn’t acceptable in my own home!”

Donna’s face turns red and Jensen can’t tell if it’s from embarrassment or anger.

“Did you learn anything today?” Jared’s voice startles all three of them and Jensen turns to look at his husband slowly. Jared’s voice is deceptively calm, but Jensen knows him well enough to see the rage burning in his hazel eyes. “I mean,” he goes on when no one answers him, “you heard Jensen talk, you heard him tell everyone how much of an impact Shaw had on his life, you heard him tell everyone how affected he was by what happened, how it’s still affecting him now. You must have learned something about your son that you didn’t know before you disowned him.”

“We didn’t disown him,” Alan answers quickly, sidestepping the question, but Jensen doesn’t let him off the hook completely.

“’If you insist on going through with this ridiculous charade, Jensen, then you can kiss goodbye to your family right now, because we will not stand by you.’”

Jensen repeats the words verbatim. They’ve been seared into his head since the moment his father said them to that lonely, scared, confused twenty-three year old while they were sitting in the office of the District Attorney, who’d they’d only just met twenty minutes before. That was the day Jensen’s world started to fall apart, started its downward spiral and it took a long time for Jensen to see and understand that. 

“That sure sounds like disowning to me,” Jared remarks, his voice still oddly flat.

“Yes, well, I can see how…but we gave you a choice, Jensen.”

“And my choice was to put a very dangerous man behind bars for the horrendous crimes he committed. I helped get justice for the _dozens_ of people he violated. Including me.” Jensen takes a deep breath. “And today, I helped make sure he _stayed_ behind bars.”

“We heard what…what you had to say,” Donna says softly. “We had no idea about what that man did to you.”

Jensen frowns. “You saw me in the hospital after the attack. You saw with your own eyes what Shaw did to me. How can you sit there and claim you never knew?”

“I meant…mentally. We never realized how much what he did to you affected you…emotionally.”

Jensen pushes himself away from the counter at his mother’s words. “Emotion-” He cuts himself off, dragging his fingers through his short hair.

“Jensen.” Jared calls his name softly and Jensen stops, turning away from the strangers sitting at his breakfast bar and paces towards the back door, trying to get himself under control.

“What if Jensen had been a girl?” Jensen hears Jared ask of his parents. “Would you have treated a girl like you treated Jensen? Those girls at the hearing today, Shaw’s other victims? Would you have disowned them if they’d been your daughter and they wanted to testify at the trial of the man that had raped them so brutally?”

“Of course not!” Alan insists loudly. “But…but it’s _different_.”

“Because I’m a man?” Jensen practically whispers, turning back to face them. 

“Well…yes,” his father admits. “I thought that you would have handled it a lot better than you did. I thought you were stronger than that.”

“Put yourself in my shoes,” Jensen instructs, “imagine you’re walking home, so proud of yourself, knowing that you just aced the practical you took. You have your whole life ahead of you, everything laid out like a fucking road map.” Jensen takes a step closer to the breakfast bar. “Now imagine walking past an alley, imagine someone jumping out, grabbing you from behind, and taking you by surprise. Imagine him shoving you into the wall so hard you’re bleeding from the impact, your world is spinning.

“Imagine fighting _so hard_ as he tries to push you to your knees, because you know what he wants. Imagine clawing, scratching at this… _monster_ , trying anything to make this _not_ happen.

“Imagine the sound of your kneecap _shattering_ under his boot, the other one cracking as you hit the asphalt, _hard_.

“Imagine the sound of him cutting off your pants and underwear. Imagine the pain of the tearing as he shoves himself into your body, completely dry, nothing between your and him but a piece of latex. Imagine your throat going hoarse because you’re screaming so loudly, but no one hears you.

“Imagine scratching at his hand as he grips your hip because you remember something in the back of your mind about DNA and epithelial cells under people’s fingernails.

“Imagine him coming, the grunt his makes as he takes pleasure in what he just did to you, even as you feel the blood dripping down your thighs.

“Imagine him leaving you there with one last kick to the gut because he hasn’t brutalized you enough. Imagine having to use only one hand to get your phone out of your pocket because you want to preserve the evidence.”

Jensen suddenly blinks, coming out of the nightmare that has been the last thirteen years and reminds himself that it’s over. Jared is holding him close, his hands moving up and down Jensen’s arms in a soothing motion and Jensen lets himself relax just a fraction as he glances up at his parents.

Alan looks green and Donna is crying hard, a tissue pressed against her lips as he tries to muffle her sobs and Jensen can’t help the small amount of satisfaction from their reactions.

“Now,” he continues, “imagine your parents leaving you in a hospital room, alone, traumatized. Suicidal. All because they were disgusted by the fact that he got himself raped. Like it was something he had control of. Now tell me how I _couldn’t_ be emotionally scarred by all of that.”

Alan swallows, the click audible in the silence of the kitchen. “We…we didn’t know it had happened like that. We thought…you’re a gay man, Jensen, we thought you’d just…met the wrong man.”

Jensen scoffs. “I was in a relationship at the time, Dad. I was dating Tom. I’m not the kind of guy who cheats; no matter how many times Tom stepped out on me.”

“If we had known-”

“You didn’t wanna know,” Jensen cuts her off. “You both left before I could explain anything.”

“We had…the reporters were outside, we couldn’t…” Jensen’s mother trails off, shakes her head like she knows it’s not an excuse anymore.

“I was kicked out of my apartment.” The words tumble out of Jensen’s mouth without his permission, everything that his parents did to him spewing forth, like he needs to get it all off his chest once and for all, so that he can see their reactions over what they did to him. “When you stopped paying the rent and I couldn’t afford it because you said that I couldn’t have a job while I was at college because it was an unneeded distraction, they kicked me out. I had to sleep on Josh’s couch until Danneel made me move into her crappy studio apartment. When you found out that I was still under your health insurance, you had my name removed and I had to borrow money from Chris and Danneel and Steve and Josh just so that I could have my stitches removed, but I had to do my own physical therapy because I couldn’t afford to go to a professional.”

Donna swallows again, her face pale. “If I…if I’d known, I would have…”

“You did know!”

“We didn’t.”

“I was on crutches the last time you saw me, from the _shattered kneecap_ Shaw gave me. I couldn’t sit down properly because of the _anal tearing_ and _internal bleeding_ he left me with. I was out of breath because of the _broken ribs_. You both saw all of that and you still left me in that DA’s office, scared and alone, because I wanted to put the man who did all of that behind bars for the rest of his life.”

“Why did you go to the hearing today?” Jared repeats, surprising everyone else and not giving Jensen’s parents a chance to defend themselves any further. “Something must have changed if you decided you wanted to see Jensen after all these years.”

Alan sucks in a deep breath. “Well, it’s like you said. We haven’t seen him for thirteen years.”

“Your own fault,” Jared butts in. “You clearly knew where he was or you were able to find out from Josh or Mack. You could have come to see him any time you wanted. But you chose today, the trial; why?”

Jensen narrows his eyes. “It was so that you didn’t have to speak to me if you didn’t want to.” Alan looks away, clearly uncomfortable. “You just wanted to satisfy your curiosity, see for yourselves that I was still alive and functioning without putting any pressure on you to actually have a conversation with me.”

“We didn’t want to make a scene,” Donna admits, her voice a whisper. “We thought that coming to your home was too…we didn’t want to invade your life, Jensen. But after what we heard today…I just needed to see if you were alright, so I had your father call Mackenzie to find out where you lived.”

Jensen glances at Jared. “Remind me to yell at her.”

“I’ll put a reminder on your phone.”

“But this is still the first time, since that DA’s office, that you’ve admitted you wanted to see me,” Jensen continues. “You sat there, for thirteen years, and pretended to the world that I didn’t exist. And now you come here and I’m just supposed to, what? Forgive you? Pretend like nothing happened?”

“I admit, what I said was wrong,” Alan shakes his head, a grim smile on his face, “but I was embarrassed, Son, insulted that you would turn your back on our family over something that I thought was so trivial.”

Jensen snorts. “Oh, yeah, that’s what rape is, trivial, sure.”

Alan ignores him. “But over the last few years I’ve…mellowed. I grew to realize how much I missed you and when I saw your picture in the paper, when I saw how well you were doing, I wanted to see for myself. But I knew that I wouldn’t be welcome, so I thought the best thing to do would be to just go to the trial, see you there, in the flesh. I thought that would be enough.”

“But it wasn’t enough,” Jared says, stating the obvious.

“Learning what he did to you, what you went through, I just…I couldn’t stand to be away from you. I realized that I should have tried a lot sooner to fix things with you.”

“So Mom didn’t tell you I called?”

Jensen keeps his eyes on Donna, watches the blood drain from her face as she stares back, open-mouthed.

Alan turns to his wife. “I…what? When?”

“Three years ago. It was my therapist’s idea. She thought that reconnecting, getting in touch might help me.”

“Donna, why didn’t you say anything?” Alan asks, betrayal shining in his eyes.

“Because she hung up on me,” Jensen explains. “She told me how embarrassed she was of me for working in a coffee shop, how she couldn’t show her face at the country club or some other bullshit. Then she bragged about Tom getting married and how wonderful his life was while I was apparently still single. She didn’t want to know me.”

Donna gapes at her son. “I didn’t know…I didn’t mean…I know I was wrong, I can see now how wrong I was. I never should have said those things to you.”

“I wanted to kill myself after that phone call.”

Donna gasps, her hand at her mouth, tearing running down her cheeks.

“I was finally happy, finally stable after a decade of nothing but bad luck and worse choices. I thought I should try to repair what I’d apparently broken, but instead, you broke me even more.” Jensen shakes his head at the two strangers in front of him. “And do you know why I couldn’t do it? Why I couldn’t swallow down the pills with the bottle of Wild Turkey, why I couldn’t stick that needle in my arm and make all the pain just go away?”

“Me,” Jared says before Jensen has a chance to.

“That’s right, Jared. The only person in my life, except for Danneel, who has accepted me for who I am without any questions or conditions. He didn’t try to fix me, he loves me for who I am.”

Jared squeezes the back of Jensen’s neck with one large hand and Jensen takes a second to lean into the touch.

“Jensen, you are our son. Of course we love you, and we’re so proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished.”

“No, Mom, you don’t love me. If you did, you never would have been able to put your reputation before my health.”

“We were wrong,” Alan admits and Jensen feels something lift from his chest. He feels lighter, freer, more so than he did the times he saw Shaw being led away in handcuffs.

“Thank you,” he says meaningfully. “Honestly, thank you for finally admitting that.”

Donna smiles. “Sweetheart, I’m so glad to hear you say that, because we mean what we say; we really did handle things very badly.”

Jensen nods and reaches for Jared’s hand, needing his strength for what he’s about to say.

“But it doesn’t change anything.”

Donna’s face falls. “What? Jensen, what are you talking about?”

“It’s been thirteen years,” Jensen reminds them, “thirteen years, during which time you didn’t think about me at all, at least not enough to stop by or pick up the phone.”

“Jensen, Son, it wasn’t like that,” Alan protests.

Jared clears his throat. “I think it’s quite obvious that it was.”

“I really don’t think you get to say anything here,” Donna snaps. “You’re not family and this really doesn’t concern you.”

“He’s my family!” Jensen shouts. “He’s been by my side, solid and sure, for the last three years. He’s the only family I need. Him and Danneel and Gen and Chris and Steve and Josh and Mack. They are my family because they are the ones who never turned their backs on me when they found out what happened to me. They’re the ones who supported me through everything, as I picked myself up from rock bottom and got my life back while you had tea at the country club.”

“Jensen-”

“I don’t need you,” Jensen cuts his better half off, staring hard at his parents. “I’m happy that you finally see that you were wrong and that you can admit that, but I’m a different man now that I was then. I’m stronger, thanks to everything I’ve been through over the years and I found a life. I have a good life without you.”

“Oh, Jensen, please,” Donna begs but Jensen only shakes his head.

“No, Mom, you can’t just walk back into my life after all these years and expect everything to be okay between us.”

“We’ve admitted we were wrong,” Alan says, “we’ve apologized. We’d just like to get to know you again, Jensen. And your husband.”

“I’m sorry,” Jensen almost chokes on the words, “I really am, but I just can’t. It can’t ever be like it was. I promise I won’t…I won’t speak badly of you in public, I never have, and I won’t avoid you if we run into each other anywhere, like Mack’s wedding. I’ll be civil, I’ll be polite, even. But I won’t go beyond that.”

Donna’s crying, but she nods her head. “We really did handle things very badly.”

“Yeah, you did. You handled things about as badly as possible,” Jensen agrees.

Alan coughs into his fist. “Is there nothing we could say that could get you to change your mind? Give us another chance?”

Jensen looks at Jared and smiles. He looks around the kitchen, at the recipes – both hand written and torn from various magazines – that are pinned to the notice board above the table, at the photos of his friends and siblings alongside them. His muddy sneakers sit next to the back door after the rain had interrupted his run the day before.

His presence is all over this house and despite it being Jared’s by right, Jensen’s name is on the deed now, too.

He has a life. A good life, a great life, one that he built by himself, with Jared’s help and he doesn’t want to give that up for anything.

“You know, three, four years ago, the only thing I wanted was for you to say what you just said, for you to admit that you were wrong and to allow me to be a part of your lives again.” Jensen reaches for Jared’s hand. “But a lot has changed in those three or four years. I’ve grown a lot, I’ve learned a lot and I learned that I’ve been wrong all these years.”

“Wrong?” Donna repeats. “Wrong about what, Sweetheart?”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Jensen states calmly. “None of it was my fault, not the rape, not my name being leaked to the press, not the so-called embarrassment you apparently suffered because of what happened. None of it was my fault and I’ve spent more than a decade thinking that it was and I’m just not going to do that anymore.”

“Jensen, we never thought you were to blame for what happened,” Donna says through her tears.

“But you didn’t exactly stand by me, did you?”

Donna looks away and both her and Alan shift uncomfortable in their seats.

“I’m glad you learned something today, Mom, Dad, and I appreciate your apology, late as it is, I really do, but if you don’t mind, I’d like for you to leave now, please.”

Donna lets out a hiccupping sob, but Alan simply nods his head somberly.

“I understand, Jensen, I do. I can’t say I’m not upset at your decision but I can understand why you came to it.” He stands up. “If you don’t mind, though, I would like to check in on you now and again. Nothing more than a phone call a few times a year, just to make sure you’re alright.”

Jensen looks at Jared, silently asking his opinion, but Jared just shrugs his shoulders. This decision is Jensen’s alone.

With a deep breath, Jensen picks up a business card for _Jay Squared_ from the pile by the recipe books and quickly writes his and Jared’s home phone number on the back before he hands it to his father.

Alan smiles as he looks down at the white card. “I’ve heard about this place from Mackenzie. She said it’s doing wonderfully.”

“We get by,” Jared answers cryptically and Jensen bites down on a grin.

“Well, I suppose we should by going,” Alan reaches out a hand for his wife. “Of course, we’ll see you and Jared at Mackenzie’s wedding.”

A small smile grazes Jensen’s lips at his father’s unquestioned inclusion of Jared.

“We’ll be there.”

“Well, we’ll be sure to stop by and say hello to you both.”

With one last look at them, his eyes lingering on his son, Alan can’t seem to do anything but nod. “Jared, it was good to meet you. Jensen, I’m glad you at least let us say our peace before you came to your decision. I appreciate that, we both do. We’ll see you soon.”

“Jensen,” Donna says softly, her voice cracking, and Alan leads her away with a hand on the small of her back.

Jensen doesn’t follow them to the front door, just waits until it closes solidly behind them before he collapses into Jared’s arms.

“You okay?” Jared asks, kissing the top of his head and wrapping his arms tight around Jensen.

“No,” Jensen answers honestly, burying his face into Jared’s chest.

“You wanna…” Jared trails off. “Fuck, I don’t even know what to suggest right now. Sex? We could have sex if you want. I would totally do that for you if that was what you needed right now.”

Jensen chuckles. “Wow, how selfless of you to be willing to have sex with your husband so that he can feel better about his fucked up relationship with his parents.”

Jared’s smile slips away, Jensen can tell even from where he’s still snuggled against Jared’s chest and he feels bad, guilty.

“Jensen.”

Jensen cuts him off. “Don’t, okay?” He tightens his hold around Jared’s waist. “Can’t fix it now, I made my choice and I’m good with it. It’s just a lot to deal with on top of what happened today. I’ll be okay.”

“What can I do?” the question is serious this time and Jensen gives him a squeeze.

“Nothing. I’ll see if Kim can fit me in tomorrow or the day after and I’ll vent to her and stop her yelling at me for pent up feelings of inadequacy. But for right now, all I want is to veg out on the couch with some food and some Steve Rodgers.”

Jared gasps. “You gonna leave me for Captain America?”

The joking atmosphere suddenly back, Jensen pushes away from Jared. “Never!”

“Good. I always thought you’d make a better Captain America anyway.”

“Keep saying things like that and you might get some sex after all.”

Jared whoops, then presses a soft kiss against Jensen’s lips and moves to get glasses and napkins for the food that is probably late at this point.

The front door opens as Jensen is reaching for his phone to check the time and he momentarily panics, looking at Jared with wide eyes.

Then Danneel’s sweet voice rings out over the house and Jensen relaxes.

She skids into the kitchen, her hair (brunette again) flying out behind her.

“Well? Are you okay? How did it go? What happened?”

Jensen looks at Jared and they share a tender smile.

“God, Dee, do I have a story for you.”

Her eyes widen. “What?! He got out?! The news didn’t say he got out! They said his parole was denied! Jensen, I had the news on in the shop all day. I thought Gabe was going to hit me over the head with my own frying pan because I wouldn’t let him change the station.”

“Don’t worry, he didn’t get out.”

Danneel deflates a little. “Then what?”

Jensen reaches over and kisses Jared again, locking his gaze with his husband’s, seeing all the love that Jared feels for him reflected there, knowing that Jared is seeing the same thing in his own green eyes.

He can’t love this man more.

“Come on, Danneel. I’ll tell you all about it in the living room while Jared freaks out about you sitting on the couch.”

“Why am I not allowed to sit on the couch?”

Jensen just laughs.

END

**Author's Note:**

> So, originally, this was going to be the epilogue for the original fic, but my lovely beta convinced me that it wasn't needed and to post it as it's own fic, as a time stamp.
> 
> I know a lot of you were wondering about Jensen's parents and were upset about the way things were left between them, so hopefully this will give you some closure and make you guys feel slightly better.
> 
> Once again, the title of this fic is taken from the Boyzone song 'One Kiss at a Time', 'cause I'm still that little 90's girl at heart.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed spending time in my little verse!


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